Originally Posted by
howardcano
The software for separating transponder ID messages from status messages, and sending only the ID messages to the PC, is operational. Despite being quite complex, the software functioned on the first try.
The first photo shows 10 transponders gathered around a small testing loop. This is a worst-case scenario, and in fact I wasn’t counting on the software being able to determine which messages are for ID and save them to the list in RAM in this situation... While it does take a few seconds for all the IDs to be determined and saved, it eventually happens. This is a pleasant surprise.
When something doesn’t work properly, it’s an indication of a problem. But sometimes when something works
too well, it’s also a sign of a problem. (“If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.”)
My initial belief that having 10 transponders in the loop at the same time would prevent determination of ID messages was, in fact, correct. I found a glitch in the software that made it possible, but only rarely would also recognize a status message as an ID message (which would have alerted me to the problem). Now that this glitch has been corrected, IDs can be determined for only about 5 transponders in the loop at the same time.
Again, this has no effect on normal operation, where each transponder ID is recognized as each car individually passes through the loop (we call this “checking in”). When all of the IDs have been recognized, then all 10 transponders can be in the loop simultaneously with no ill effects.